Energy producers honor 2 for lifetime achievements

The Southeastern Utah Energy Producers Association conferred lifetime achievement awards Thursday on David Zaccaria of Tram Electric and on Harmond Electric, founded by the late George Harmond Sr.

The plaques were presented at the association's eighth annual banquet in the Fairgrounds Event Center.

Zaccaria, who started a small after-market remanufacturing shop in 1981, was honored not only for service to the energy industry but for his humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to the community. Tram Electric's growth in clients and product lines over the decades led to several relocations to accommodate more machines and employees. The company now occupies a 44,650 square-foot building on almost six acres on Airport Road in Price.

In accepting the award, thanked his family and employees for the success - and he also paid tribute to "Harmond University," where he had worked before starting out on his own.

There were others in the audience who shared the experience of working for Harmond Electric early in their careers. The company was launched as a part-time venture in the late 1950s by George Harmond and Dominic Bruno. Harmond quit work at the old Kaiser Steel coal mine in 1961 to pursue full time work at his own shop.

The company grew from a handful of employees working in a backyard shed into an interstate mine electrical equipment service and sales organization. The business has since been sold, becoming Electrical Contractors and Baker Mine Service.

Judge George Harmond Jr. and his sister Linda accepted the award.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by country-western singer Michael Martin Murphey.